


Strong Enough To Break

by TigressJade



Series: Shadows Over Brooklyn AU Drabbles [6]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Magnus Catarina Izzy and Madzie go back in time, Alec has a plan, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Bad Parent Robert Lightwood, Deruning, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Except Alec and Izzy, F/M, Good Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Hell took over this dimension, Immortal Alec Lightwood, Immortal Isabel Lightwood, Immortal Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Immortal Max Lightwood, Immortality, John Monteverde Lives, Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern Lives, M/M, Malec have a re-meet cute, Mentions of Past Dark Clary, Mentions of Past Dark Jace, Multi, Oh yeah there's more than one wish, Ragnor Fell Lives, Raziel didn't actually give the Shadowhunters just one wish, Shadowhunters AU Drabble, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, and almost killed all of the Shadowhunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 03:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15698850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigressJade/pseuds/TigressJade
Summary: Alec, Magnus Izzy, Cat, and Madzie travel back in time to avert Hell's takeover of their world by rewriting the past.





	Strong Enough To Break

**Author's Note:**

> This one's a time travel au with the usual twists and turns and changes to the canon storyline. ;)
> 
> I hope it's an enjoyable read. :)

Raziel’s wish wasn’t the only one of its kind. Something the shadowhunters hadn’t realized until the world was well and fully at the mercy of the Princes of Hell and Magnus Bane was dead and banished to the lowest fires of Edom.

Alec knew he had a chance. Spurred on by the logic that a people couldn’t simply be given one request to last them the eons of forever. That and nothing Clary had ever done had ever been permanent.

Valentine had been raised at least three times now in Alec’s immediate recollection and the idea that Magnus could do the same was the only thing that had kept him going even through Clary’s turn and Jace being devoured once again by an exceedingly powerful demon at Lilith’s command.

In fact the only reason the Mortal Instruments hadn’t been destroyed is no one had any reason to suspect that Alec was still alive and in possession of the cup and the sword, much less making use of Ragnor Fell’s manor as a safe house along with Catarina and Madzie, never mind that the Instruments had left a now falling Idris.

Alec was waiting, waiting for Izzy to bring what was left of the books they needed to complete the ritual to summon briefly summon Magnus and then attempt to fling their souls as far from this present world as possible.

He let out a strained sigh of relief as he braced himself for the next stage of his plan.

“We have one shot.”

“Then let’s take it.” Izzy retorted as Catarina looked toward Madzie before nodding.

“I’ll only be able to keep him on this plane for a few seconds” Catarina warned.

“That’s all we’ll need” Alec said with a shadow of the smirk that used to grace his face. “We can’t let this dimension fall like the others. We need to get him back for that.” _I need him. I need him to be okay. I need to fix this._

“We know. You need him Alec” Izzy put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get him back. We’ll get everyone back.”

Alec reminded himself that he even felt sympathy for people like Raj and Lorenzo Rey…or something nearest it. Even though they helped to foil the only protections left holding their dimension’s stability in place.

It had taken months, but the disruptions caused by Valentine, and then in turn by Raj’s override of the Angelic Core and Lorenzo Rey’s refusal to lend Warlock power to free Jace had all contributed to the eventual rise of Asmodeus and the Princes of Hell from their own dimension and a now powerless Magnus’ death.

The Seelie Queen hadn’t survived the invasion once Lilith had been razed once more.

And Clary, Clary had turned into a creature that was barely a shell of her former self at the hands of Hell. Daring and failing to overpower her captors, even going so far as to raze Valentine again only to find that even he was no match for seven Greater Demons.

The Lightwoods had disappeared amidst the scorch of dust and fire leaving only Alec and Izzy to survive in its wake.

The ash circle they drew to summon Magnus was covered in obscure runes in a way that more resembled an alchemist’s glyphs than any type of Shadowhunter and Warlock collaboration and with it they drew Magnus to earth again following the sound of Alec’s voice calling out to him.

“Alexander” came a whisper and a rattle of chains. “No…they’ve taken you too…my Alexa-”

“Shh, Magnus. Magnus it’s okay, we’ve got you” Alec said gesturing carefully, watching Catarina for cues as to how far she was in the process.

“No! NO! Stop showing me _him!_ You can’t have him! He’s my-” Magnus seemed lost again, yelling to his hellish tormentors as if still seeing them in his mind.

Alec repeatedly tried to anchor him with his voice, only succeeding when he entered the circle and wrapped his arms around Magnus. Quickly nodding to Catarina and receiving a confirmation in reply, he held fast to Magnus and watched as Izzy drew the necessary runes to bind Magnus’ soul to him.

Magnus writhed in pain and after a minute so did Alec as the runes continued to burn Alec’s skin as she drew them. They were meant to sear the soul and they did.

Madzie finally joined them once the binding was complete and Izzy had drawn the runes on herself as well, Catarina anchoring them together, screaming as they burned her own skin even as Alec and Magnus came down from the initial fire of their connection as it cauterized their souls to fit together and seal what was left of Magnus existence. Izzy seal tying herself to the ritual with a final rune and Catarina beckoning Madzie toward her as she held fast to her hand and Alec’s, joined by Izzy as she stabilized.

Then they portaled Idris. To the exact location of Lake Lyn. The only thing that had stood the test of Hell’s invasion, largely having been ignored as a seamless body of water amidst a falling city.

Summoning Raziel and feeling him appear before they could physically see him was less of surprise than an instinctive knowledge of his presence. Something Alec could confidently compare to Magnus’ own ability to sense his father Asmodeus at any given time while they were on the same plain.

Alec makes the wish, weaving a carefully planned request to his race’s maker, finding it far simpler to receive this wish amidst the Angel’s already fallen tears as he looks to Alec and Izzy like they are all that is left of his children. A fact that could very well be.

A reminder of Max and his probable demise that Alec definitely doesn’t need, even with the knowledge that their success here could bring back a Max that is safe, sound, sane, and far unware of any of their current experiences.

The Angel Raziel nods and fulfills their request even as Magnus once again falls to one of his screaming fits, Alec calling on their bond to calm him.

“I love you, Alexander” he rasps as he once again feels Alec call to him through the depths of their souls.

“I love you too, Magnus-”

“ _We always find our way back to each other._ Alec thought as he felt his soul detangle itself, tugging Magnus’ along, feeling the darkness as his physical death came upon him.

They each wake in their old bodies years in the past with a cavalcade of memories, months before Alec and Izzy ever met Magnus. Most of these they quickly get a handle on, or in Alec and Magnus’ case, are written down for chronologically strategic planning. Though Magnus needs an extra week of clarity potions to orient him enough to review his own memories in meticulous detail, while carefully clouding some of his more erratically painful memories of his third and final visit to Edom.

Magnus’ first order of business is to claim the Book of White, while surreptitiously visiting Hotel Dumort during the day, using the key Camille had never thought to recollect from him. Then he checks on Jocelyn Fray and places some subtle warding around her home meant to keep out only those with malicious intent.

Alec and Izzy set about slowly changing their lifestyle with Alec putting on even more of a façade than before in front of their parents, while Izzy with the knowledge that Meliorn is a half-fae who can actually lie, sets about reorganizing her Downworlder contacts. Alec acts the part of the perfect Shadowhunter until he and Izzy are alone on missions. They leave Jace out of the equations only rarely, but the moment he’s off with one of his flings, Alec and Izzy are on the street making connections, making deals, trading what they can to ensure a favorable arrangement once Valentine resurfaces.

Catarina comes to them some weeks later asking for their help in rescuing the mundanes Iris had ensnared and extracting Madzie from her care. It takes quite a bit of effort to find all of Iris’ victims and healing them, in some cases preventing and even aborting pregnancies before they could cause the mundanes further trauma. It was difficult, but necessary in order to prevent an even more arduous situation.

Magnus didn’t turn Camille over to the Clave until she was well within his sights, after he’d collected enough evidence of her turning mundanes without legal writs. Something that actually prompted Ragnor to step out of his manor in England and offer him a grudgingly conciliatory glass of wine. Finding himself surprised when Magnus wasn’t as shattered by Camille’s arrest as he’d expected.

Raphael joined them later, with Catarina, to announce that he’d taken control of the New York Clan. He was also slightly concerned about Magnus’ reaction, though unwilling to admit it, and shared Ragnor’s confusion when Magnus didn’t act as heartbroken as he once might’ve.

Jace is furious with Alec and Izzy when they tell him the truth and is determined to go find Valentine himself.

“Izzy are you sure Magnus won’t be here? We can’t meet until its time.”

“Stop worrying, mi hermano. I know for a fact there’s a rave at Pandemonium tonight being thrown by the one and only High Warlock of Brooklyn. We won’t be running into him.”

They don’t tell Jace for months, not until things are in place and he can’t actually make a move to stop them without alerting Maryse. There was too much risk that Jace would fly off the handle again after he met Clary and jump right into situations that could lead to them losing ground to Valentine once again.

“I’m your parabatai! Your brother! How could you even think that-”

“It’s not about what you think, dear brother” Izzy interrupted Jace’s fuming. “There were more important things at stake this time around. We couldn’t risk your latest tantrum ending in our return to that hell world, just because you wanted to risk everything for a failed attempt at Valentine.”

“I wouldn’t have failed.”

Alec snorted.

“You did and you spent months trying. Clary’s the only one who managed to kill him and he’s her father.”

“I’ll do it so that she doesn’t have to” Jace reasoned.

Alec shook his head, while Izzy inspected her nails with a neutral expression.

“You were the reason she had to. Every time you went after Valentine you put someone else in danger. I’ll put you in a holding cell if I have to, but you’re not doing that again.”

Jace grudgingly agrees, though it’s a lie.

It isn’t until later, when Izzy tells him that he almost killed Alec twice as a result of him going rogue that he stops.

Only Izzy ensures this by arranging for his identity as a Herondale to be revealed in quick succession and suddenly he’s swept off to Clave events by his High Inquisitor grandmother. He attends multiple meetings with well placed Clave Officials and their equally eligible daughters before he cracks and steals Izzy’s whip and Alec’s bow, threatening to keep them if they don’t help him find a way out of his grandmother’s machinations.

Alec just smiles and tells Jace the bow doesn’t belong to him before it magically reappears in Alec’s hands.

Izzy shrugs and tells him that wasn’t her only whip, just her most convenient.

They don’t tell Jace about Clary and she doesn’t show up at the Institute for almost a year after her first arrival in the original timeline. She’s already attending the Brooklyn Academy of the Arts by that time. Magnus already having reconnected with Dot and again refusing her offer to pick up where they left off.

He’s Alec’s and now that he knew about several useful rituals, some of which Alec might possibly agree to, would never not be his ever again.

When they’re good and ready, Magnus collects Jocelyne and Clary just before the Circle gets wind of them, tipping off Dot along the way, and Alec and Izzy use what they’ve learned to break Hodge’s curse and let him loose, knowing he’ll lead them straight to Valentine.

One of Luke’s wolves is carefully trailing behind Hodge at Magnus’ request.

Attending Magnus’ party a couple of nights later is even more amusing as Magnus and Alec just can’t help themselves when they see each other again. Although the party is very different this time, including Ragnor, Catarina, Raphael, Tessa, Jem (ahem Brother Zachariah), Luke, Jocelyne, Clary, Meliorn, and several other people whom they consider trustworthy. They plan a raid on Valentine’s hideout that’s extensive and meant to end the war before it ever truly reignites.

This time when Lydia Branwell comes to the Institute its to deliver a commendation to the younger Lightwoods for Valentine’s defeat. Hearing the real story changes her views on Downworlders a bit, though fiancé John is still in the infirmary at their home Institute, he’s apparently recovering well (unbeknownst to her its thanks to another one of Izzy’s interventions through her contacts that allowed enough backup to arrive in time to keep John from being killed by in a nest of demons as in the original timeline).

All the while the Mortal Cup stays hidden in a card in Magnus tarot deck (they’d retrieved it from the precinct one night when Luke wasn’t on shift) and the other Mortal Instruments remain indisposed, with the Sword locked up in Idris and Lake Lyn now permanently suffering from a serious drought thanks to some cleverly anonymous spell work. The Clave isn’t really sure what’s going on with it as they’ve never actually seen any change in it in living memory.

They call Ragnor in to evaluate it and he tells them the Lake’s magic had finally faded, later proclaiming that Magnus owed him an eternity’s worth of whiskey for following through with his part in the whole charade.

Magnus and Alec keep their relationship an open secret while they attempt several rituals to turn Alec into an immortal, eventually succeeding with one of the warlock rituals.

“Alexander, this-you’ve become a warlock!”

Alec looks down at his runes as tears of happiness fall from his eyes and notices that they’re blue now.

“I still have my runes. Doesn’t that mean I’m both?”

“I’ve never heard of this succeeding before” Magnus admitted and his eyes filling with tears as well, “but I can sense you’re magical signature as that of a warlock as well.”

“I won’t ever have to leave you” Alec said with a full beautiful smile gracing his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

“Is there a way to cover my runes so that they look normal? We need to keep this from the Clave for now.”

“Yes, there’s a simple glamor I can show you that should do the trick.”

They spent the rest of the evening in each other’s arms trading slow kisses and eventually checking Alec’s magical control before they went off to bed for the night.

Once that happens they have no problem letting Alec’s parents and the entire Institute know about their relationship. Ironically Alec is now Co-Head of the Institute with Izzy as their reward for having defeated Valentine, and Maryse and Robert are unable to shame their children with the need to restore the Lightwood name as they’ve already done it.  Both of their parents had refused to believe Alec and Izzy’s story about time travel and still attempt to manipulate Alec into a loveless marriage.  In fact the two of them find themselves unwelcome at the New York Institute and return to Idris in quick succession, although they’re forced to leave Max behind as Alec had the forethought to request Max receive his first rune and training in New York.

The Clave is more than happy to honor such a request, particularly after the ousting of Consul Malachi upon the discovery of his Circle rune, and the retrials all subsequent Circle members including the elder Lightwoods. This time both Robert and Maryse are deruned and forced to live together in the mundane world, effectively ending Robert’s affair with an unknown partner in Idris. Apparently, the risk of remaining associated with him was just too high now that probable banishment was on the horizon.

Jonathan doesn’t resurface until months later and is purified using a forbidden Seelie ritual that erases everything and de-ages him, leaving him once again a child for Jocelyn to raise. She renames him James and he grows up only ever knowing Luke as his father.

Simon does eventually become a Downworlder again, though its an accident and eventually starts dating Maia once he joins Luke’s pack. Luke still has them meet at the Jade Wolf occasionally, but he buys a farm outside the city and insists on having pack meetings there from now on. There are also small cottages and plenty of guest rooms on his land to safely house the pack and their families, something that successfully keeps them safely under the Clave’s radar.

Everyone reunites occasionally for events like Alec and Magnus’ wedding and eventually Jem and Tessa’s. Clary and Jace get off to a more awkward start and have several dramatic on-again off-again relationships before they eventually decide to make everything permanent. Simon having already married Maia by the time they do.

Even as the years fade and only Izzy and Max undergo the ritual that will allow them to stay together with Alec, Magnus, Max II, and Rafe, Alec thinks back to past timeline that they changed knowing they did the right thing. They were strong enough to break what needed to be broken, to shatter the very events that previously brought them together in order to create a prolonged future well beyond their once dark end.

Max becomes surprisingly good friends with the Seelie Queen and is the only immortal allowed to walk into her realm simply to enjoy her company. While this does ease the way for Izzy and Meliorn to take a more serious look at their relationship now that both of them are immortal (and Meliorn now knows that Izzy’s been messing with him for her own amusement ever since she discovered his ability to lie, something that actually impresses him as his half-sister the Seelie Queen is the only person who’s ever managed to do so before).

In 200 years, everything changes when their dimension is sealed off from Edom and every facet of hell forever. Creating a very different world once again.


End file.
